GMG - Las Vegas Weekly

December 19, 2013

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A&E | NOISE
C O N C E RT
MUSICAL
COMPANIONSHIP
It's easy to hear why The Black Crowes' live
machine is still rolling on
> STILL CROWING Chris
Robinson, last Friday at
the Joint.
THE BLACK CROWES BY SCOTT HARRISON/RETNA; ULTRA VIOLET BY FRED MORLEDGE/PHOTOFM
LO C A L S C E N E
JUMPING
THROUGH HOOPS
he was either playing church music
The Black Crowes will be able
or the theme song from the Charlie
to tour until they die. I can't recall
Brown specials. Rich Robinson and
the last time I've seen as diverse a
Jackie Greene took turns showing
crowd inside the Hard Rock Hotel.
off their guitar prowess throughModern-day hippies, middle-aged
out the night, with long, extended
suburbanites and older corporate
breakdowns. Solos often rambled
cogs ﬁlled the venue, and listenon, to the delight of jam-band aﬁing to the Brothers Robinson and
cionados, but some editing wouldn't
their mates, it's easy to underhave hurt on songs like
stand why. The Crowes
"Wiser Time." It was a bit
pull from Southern rock,
awkward watching Chris
blues, roots music, gospel
aaacc
Robinson stand up there
and jam sounds to create
THE BLACK
with nothing to do on the
their live show. You hear
CROWES
long instrumental breaks,
all their inﬂuences—The
December 13,
though I guess a tambouAllman Brothers Band,
the Joint.
rine in every song would
The Band, The Faces—
be overkill.
and you hear all the bands
Set closer "Hard to Handle"—
they've inﬂuenced: Kings of Leon,
the Otis Redding cover and The
Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic
Black Crowes' original breakout
Zeros, My Morning Jacket.
hit—was ﬁlled with life, along with
A 90-minute main set showed off
a seamless interlude of the Billy
a bevy of skills. Lead singer Chris
Joe Royal-penned/Deep Purple
Robinson, looking as Jesus-y as ever,
popularized "Hush." A solid night
has a voice that's as strong now as
came to an anti-climactic end with
when the band broke big in 1990,
a one-song encore, the Marvin
soaring on "Soul Singing" and "She
Gaye cover, "Baby Don't You Do It."
Talks to Angels." Keyboardist Adam
Bands that never stop touring have
MacDougall sounded like a player
to save something for tomorrow.
out of place, in the best possible
–Jason Harris
way—on every tune it seemed like
> START THEM UP
Silence the Messenger
plays Ultra Violet.
A local acrobat sheds light on what it takes to throw shows
Downhill from West Russell Road, nestled in a dark pocket of industrial beige, is
one of the newest venues capable of but not exclusive to hosting all-ages music in the
Valley. And that's the least complicated way to describe what goes on at Ultra Violet.
In July of 2013, Stephanie Costello, a touring circus acrobat-turned-studio
owner, began using her Ultra Violet Extreme Performance Art Center, a training
facility for most things high-up and rope-hitched, as a place for bands to rehearse
and perform. The space itself is colossal: three stories high, a cold cement floor
that almost blurs in the distance, and silk ropes, swings and rings, all fastened to
the ceiling—trade tools of high-flying circus performers. It's also the home of the
Start Up Foundation, Inc., a Nevada nonprofit supporting Las Vegas performance
artists that is also owned by Costello. "I just want to give Las Vegas entertainers a
place to train and work on their art," Costello says. "But to do it you have to tip-toe
through the tulips. Because those tulips are expensive."
Here's where it gets tricky. Tonight's show is a fundraiser for the Start Up Foundation. The suggested donation
goes toward providing equipment for artists, and renting
ULTRA VIOLET
out a facility for the fundraiser (in this case, Ultra Violet).
4544 W. Russell
Tickets can't be sold, hence the donation. There are no
Road #B, ticketfly.
concessions on the grounds. A sound system needs to be
com/venue/9555brought in specifically for the event. In other words, in orultra-violet-studios.
der to throw events, one of Costello's companies must buy out the other. Ultra Violet
isn't actually a music venue, but an open-format event space. The event is like a big,
functional loophole—with a death metal soundtrack.
Outside the office, in front of the rumbling speakers, the audience isn't aware of
what has to happen for this to work. Everyone here is high school- and early collegeaged, mixed in with band members' parents, just coming out to support their scene.
"This is our first show with our rhythm guitarist," David Ralyea, singer for the local
metal outfit Insomnia Effect, howls down at them, "and it's his first show ever!" Las
Vegas is so dismally devoid of venues at which new, all-age-demographic bands like
Insomnia Effect can get real stage time. Ultra Violet (and the Start Up Foundation) is
one of the few. And clearly, even calling it that is a stretch. –Max Plenke
DECEMBER 19–25, 2013 LASVEGASWEEKLY.COM
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